Hockey arena revives downtown Newark

While Brooklynites harp on the changes the New Jersey Nets move is bringing to Prospect Heights, there’s also been a transformation around the team’s recent home across the Hudson River. The Wall Street Journal reported that a number of new restaurants, bars and real estate developments are being planned, or have opened, around the Prudential Center in Newark, which opened in 2007 for the New Jersey Devils. (The Nets have rented the arena for the past two seasons.)

Adjacent to the arena, Tucker Development is building a $35 million Courtyard by Marriott, the first new downtown hotel in 40 years. Another property, Hotel Indigo, is slated to open later this year in a former bank building just across the street.

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Outside of hotels, Tucker is planning a mixed-use development on an 11-acre property on Springfield Avenue. A 340,000-square-foot complex that will soon headquarter electronics maker Panasonic is also in the works. Richard Meier-designed Teachers Village, which will include 200 rental apartments and 20 storefronts, broke ground in Newark in February. Finally, an eight-story jewelry factory across the street from the arena is being converted into 67 rental loft units.

Finally, a host of bars and restaurants, including Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and Uber Burger, have opened within steps of the Prudential Center in recent years. Residents say the crime-ridden area is finally being revived. [WSJ]